Building the “NEW” New York

NEW YORK City, A vertical city famous as a Major Financial center of the world, Fashion district is actually a Forest full of Concrete trees with different mass, color, texture. A Forest surrounded by water almost all sides, was a major port once upon a time is now massive island.
Global cities- where banks, corporate headquarters and other command functions and high level producer-service firms such as law firms and advertising agencies oriented to world markets are concentrated- have emerged as strategic sites in world economy. Apparently decisions made in such cities will have global effects. As of the results, such cities have become more, not less dense over the time along with their incredible growth of wealth & power. New York is a great example of such cities at the center of the world economy, where economic globalization had contributed to a new geography of centrality and marginality. This new geography assumes many forms and operates in many terrains, from the distribution of telecommunications facilities to the structure of the economy and of employment. New York has become the site of immense concentration of economic power, where highly educated people see their incomes rise to unusually high levels, while low or medium skilled workers see theirs sink. Financial services produce super-profits while industrial services barely survive. One particular concern here is to understand how new forms of inequality actually are constituted into new social forms. We see an interesting correspondence between great concentrations of corporate power and large concentrations of ‘others’, such as Chinatown, little Italy, etc. It invites us to see that globalization is not only constituted in terms of capital and the new international corporate culture (international finance, telecommunications, information flows) but also in terms of people and non-corporate cultures. The larger proportion of women to men, greater percentage of youth and middle aged, higher ratio of foreign born, the increased heterogeneity of occupation increase with the growth of the city and profoundly alter its social structure.

We are a city of 8 million people, give or take a few hundred thousand. But we are building a city for 9 million. Literally. Right now. That will be New York City’s total population just a couple of decades hence, and politicians, bureaucrats, developers, architects, and engineers are, as you read these words, figuring out how to fit another million people onto the collection of islands and peninsulas we call home. We can’t just bulldoze and slap up some towers—we’ve learned some lessons from the sixties—and it isn’t just half a million new homes that we need. Those million need offices, factories, labs to work in. They need subways, buses (and ferries and trams) to commute in. They need places to park and places to play, plus the power to light their homes. All in a city that can’t sprawl.

This is Tomorrow land—a new city, a city larger than San Francisco, built on top of the city we know. In ten years, New York City will be transformed in ways we can only guess at. But in the pages that follow, you will explore our best guess, based on the plans, the dreams, the cornerstones, and the rising steel in nine city neighborhoods, spread over all five boroughs. In 2016, we won’t be able to be so parochial anymore—one Times Square isn’t going to be enough to fulfill the entertainment needs of that bigger, younger, more diverse population, and you’ll be talking about the lights on 125th Street. Fresh Kills will be three times the size of Central Park. If you imagine the city as a play—every neighborhood has a role—a lot of understudies are finally going to be called onstage.

New challenges emerge from today’s trends  – A region-wide consensus for growth. NYC population will grow to over 9 million. The larger proportion of women to men, greater percentage of youth and middle aged, higher ratio of foreign born, the increased heterogeneity of occupation will increase with the growth of the city and profoundly alter its social structure. As of current value, 27 percent of New York’s more than 8 million residents are below the age of 19, and that 10 percent of that subset are between the ages of 12 and 19. While these youths “make intensive use of the public spaces, businesses, and parks and playgrounds in their own neighborhoods and in neighborhoods where they attend school plays significant role in developing their own as well as city’s future. To compete and remain relevant in the 21st century with other major cities around the world is its biggest challenge. Updating its antiquated infrastructure, continuing to attract talented citizens, connecting them to each other and the world, investing in new industries, becoming green, and creating a new generation of enlightened political leadership. The economy will demand more flexible transit service -
1. Non-traditional travel patterns will continue and intensify
2. Travel to non-Manhattan CBD destinations will grow, including reverse peak travel from NYC to suburbs
3. Intra-suburban travel will grow
4. Population will continue to grow in the outer reaches of the MTA service area, driven by the search for affordable housing

OK.. apart from all this fiction or non-fiction stories, another top line is -  Is New York City dying? What this topic suggests is not that New York will disappear, but that its role as showcase of the world’s best and brightest could diminish over time. Well, thinking of hurricane/tornado/heavy flood which might be possibilities, but apart from that, if we envision the city 50 years later, will there be any fresh air to breath? will there be enough public park or gardens to stroll (except central park, and IF we do not destroy or convert existing parks) ?
How I would like to see the ‘NEW’ New York City, is more of amalgamation of nature with man-made nature. To achieve those criteria, I would prefer to pass a Law to prohibit the new construction/ development at least 50% ( more if possible) and establish new ‘Green Open Spaces’ instead of creating new ones after demolishing old ones. Another law is to promote Sustainable development, only as part of new construction, encouragement of planting new trees along all the avenues & streets. It is very understandable that Urban and infrastructure development depends on the zoning system. But If we are looking at the future of New York City, it is very hard to imagine the urban structure with green/open spaces except Central Park. I would like to make each and every building producing it’s own energy ( at least some portion of it, if not entire) in any form. Another major contribution of the city is ‘Subway’ lines. Can we make them as clean and nice as in Washington DC ? I suspect there are enough possibilities of having ecofriendly subway lines which ‘are’ actually clean and help saving environment as well.

Many Urban schemes today are under construction, ‘East River Waterfront’ is one of those example that is promoting new ‘Urban Public Park’, public friendly water front area that includes recreational facilities, marina, small to med size retail markets. Basically the notion is to bring all ages of people to the water front and make it family friendly environment. The current situation is more like c rowdy spaces become more c rowdy while empty spaces remain empty even if both goes along. One of the changes in that scheme I would like to make is to continue the underground highway ( which ends at maritime museum near the tip of the island, and becomes fly-over then), so it allows us more open space to deal with and looks far better aesthetically. To control the traffic scenario taxi rents, parking fees should be increased. City should be offering new modes of pedestrian access, having bicycle tracks along roads. If even business class people in china/japan can go office using bicycle, why can’t we do over here? It just need have designated bicycle tracks between roads & pedestrian lines. There should be new bicycle storage/parking structure which might also renting bikes at low fix rates (it definitely consumes less space compare to car parking) and help people using subway lines.
So, having 3 main points for building the ‘NEW’ New York City -
1. More trees along roads and open green spaces
2. Promoting ONLY sustainable development
3. Control current and future traffic and encourage bicycle tracks
Can we make our city much fresh, much Green, more livable ??

NEW YORK c2400 a.d.

INTRODUCTION

In this article, I will talk about the future of New York in my mind, as I envision it. There are some tendencies in according to today’s urban development that allow us to conceive what future cities are like. My best guess is that these, in a great way, are influenced by the past — whether as a return to more spacious and human scaled cities or by seeing population exoduses increasing size.

My vision of New York will talk about five main areas: population, buildings, traffic, city elements, and city benefits. My time frame shall be 400 years in the future. Why 400 years? Because New York is celebrating it’s 400th anniversary this year and the influence for this vision relies heavily on two ‘very New York’ technologies — the subway and the pneumatic tube — so we can now see where New York is currently and have an easier idea of where it may be in the future. By ‘New York’ I am largely talking about Manhattan.

Some of my ideas have come from the readings from this semester. The Junk Space, Generic City, and Bigness readings. Of interesting note to me, this view was conceived prior to reading the paper on Masdar — so while some synergies are there, they are not influenced by that reading, so much as dovetails it.

NEW YORK c2400 a.d.

We find New York not a shell of what it once was, but BIGGER, BETTER, AND BETTER FOR MOST PEOPLE. It has become a beacon to the word, not of choice, but of necessity.

Sea levels have risen, climate change more or less the same, but air quality diminished and fresh water needs outstripped supply. A massive population growth brought with it increased traffic and as New York is an island the traffic had nowhere to go and the city could only grow up — literally! Bigness became something of  ‘form follows function’.

POPULATION

New York continues to be a city of population increase. Other American, as well as foreigners have done what they have always have done. They come here to realize their future. And that future has largely come to mirror what it always has since its founding — one based on finance of one sort or another, because ‘money does make the world go round’. One big difference is that New York has come through its technology and finance to mean that only the well paid and well educated can now live here.

New York’s population will have reached between 29.4 and 29.7 million people by 2400. Average life expectancy for females is 130.2 years of age and for males is 124.5 years of age. Better living conditions and healthier lifestyles are largely behind the longer life expectancy. As we live longer, there are more of us crowded into the same space.

New York’s two key demographic features are its density and its diversity. The city has an extremely high population density per square mile — about 100,000 more people per square mile  than the next densest large American city — that the population density of New York has come to be seen as ‘the vertical mile’. New York has a long tradition of attracting international immigration —  and that continues, but now it is only the most educated people from what was third world and developed countries.  The melting pot has continued to be just that, but now it is for the well educated.

Since more and people have flushed into New York, the city needed to find a new ways to control the people here. Long ago traffic was restricted by congestion pricing. What followed was a ban of all traffic together— including city services like garbage, fire and police services. The reason was not to make a greener city, but to make room for all of the people! New York’s government has built fences to enclose New York — only people who are qualified to the financial and education requirements of New York may live in New York. Now New Yorkers can work AND can enjoy their life. Those who live outside strive for the education and resolve they need to become true citizens of New York and come through the fence. More than ever before New York is an international city. One of bigness by nature and of cultures. What sets New York apart, is that the city government now can ‘cherry pick’ its habitants by the value they bring to the city. The test for residency is difficult, even for Americans, anyone may visit, but to live in a free city apartment, you must be pre-qualified and stay current, as there is just no room for those who don’t meet our financial standards. Others can still live near New York, in the outer borough and suburbs. New York though it’s productivity even underwrites these areas.

New immigrants must work as interns and apprentices in the outer borough and suburbs doing traditional jobs and the like for two years before even trying to take the residency test. It is the most significant way New York has restricted population growth. The old adage remains — ‘if you can make it here you can make it anywhere’ — but now making it here means you are truly the best of the best!

Those people who were born in New York may stay in New York, but after four-year college they must also take the test if they want to stay. If they fail, they lose their residency status and must depart for other cities. Those born in the borough and suburbs may take the test upon completion of four-year college as well. New York plays no favorites on this issue. All are welcome as long as they qualify. The test includes these qualifiers: education, morals, ethics, lifestyle standards and financial goals. The bottom line is New York now has the MOST PRODUCTIVE PEOPLE WHO CAN LIVE AND WANT TO LIVE TOGETHER AS A COMMUNITY. Not so much a utopia, but rather what is needed to live in an urban oasis ‘on top of each other’. Even pets are tested before they come into the city for compatibility. New York truly has become a BIG APPLE,

Educationally, save the Universities — Columbia and New York University — all residents get their education through a universal media system. The model is efficiency, besides that, the school buildings were removed to make room for people and infrastructure. Teachers themselves live in the borough and suburbs.

Social life is a very important part to our resident’s daily life. People’s social life will be more diverse — due to cultural mixing and pastime interests. 4 days work and 3 days off work — the traditional weekend but a ‘roaming ‘flex day’ to maximize office efficiency and power use. New York’s government places emphasis on interaction and each culture becoming familiar with each other as a way of social ease, that we are indeed, all in this together. As a result, our residents are all very proud of living in the city and being New Yorkers — not dissimilar to the Greek concept of ‘the polis’ — now New York is TRULY A METROPOLIS!

As such, clubs and recreation activities recreation are available 24 hours a day. People go to work round the clock since they offices can only accommodate so many employees at the same time. Additionally, New York interacts with global markets on an unprecedented scale.

With increased ‘off time’ from work since people now work a more efficiently, people can enjoy their ‘life in the sky’ Trips to outer-space and other continents are easy and quickly booked and made. The best part is that we can all afford it as we are all paid well from finance jobs.

Families and the family unit have changed a bit — people more enjoy their freedom — without family burden people are more independent and usually will not get married until 50 years of age. While public schooling is done at home, there are boarding school options for social interaction. Parents are always welcome to see those children who prefer not to live at home.

BUILDINGS

New Yorkers live in BIG customizable standard spaces. The need for BIG comes from density and a way to counter it. Since the 19th century, since New York is an island, the only way to grow was to grow up. So space needs must be on large scale and with 500 story, terraced buildings block after mega block the only way to show personal style is to customize one’s standard space. Since each person and family unit have different needs, each person is given 1000 square feet of space that they may build out as they see fit. Additionally each apartment unit has 500 square feet of outdoor space. For efficiency in construction and design, all base apartments are created equal — generic in its approach, but individualistic in its customization. Apartments are movable so that orientation with the sun may be followed if resident wishes it.

The apartments awe inspiring to visitors from other cities. Fire brigades and police stations are housed in each mega tower. Cleanliness prevails, not by choice, but by design. The pneumatic tube has re-emerged. Due to staggering heights, high speed elevators are not enough. The speed and efficiency of pneumatics (like the mail and library systems of the 20th century) had made this all possible. Food deliveries, mail, even garbage services utilize pneumatic tubes. Even rapid transit is by pneumatics — direct to your office or home! The best part of the pneumatics are that they are clean and quiet, with little to no maintenance. The garbage is encased in bio degradable pods and sent to processing facilities along a pneumatic line. Restaurants, lounges and clubs, grocery stores, even green markets… are part of the mix in all mega apartment buildings.

Other municipalities can’t do this, but New York can. Because of our entrance tests, high incomes and mega profits, all residents pay nothing for their apartments. Best of all, apartment buildings and office towers are beyond green and beyond carbon neutral. With water level rise and solar cell film, glass clad buildings. New York has an abundance of hydro and solar energy — the sun shines each day, and when it does not, water turbines work with the tides. Even the water desalinization plants generate electricity. Water is a rarity, so rainwater is purified and recycled for municipal park, and apartment terrace watering as well as toilet water supply. Long ago the water reservoirs were taken off line as inefficient. Green buildings with green spaces — the envy of the world! Air is not free, it takes money to keep it clean and New York has found a way to even pay for it at no cost to its occupants! Even garbage produces energy and green benefits!

And simplicity reigns. No more monthly bills. Since there is a surplus of power and water. Bills are almost non-existent. At the end of each year (billing cycle) residents get one mega-bill. Our New York is all about efficiency. Not utopian by design, utopian by evolution!

TRAFFIC

Sure our neighborhoods have generic looks to them — but not feels. Cultures mix evenly, but there are pockets of small enclaves of people from different places. You can see it in the food and clothing offerings. Our people make our streetscapes. The way they uses their space creates a look. So we have interaction on that level.

The subway is gone — abandoned long ago from sea-water rise and storm flooding (in the outer boroughs it still exists only as an el, like it first did in New York). In its place is the modern el. The subway was crowded, noisy and inefficient. The new el has none of that. It’s all pneumatic, like the very first subway! The only difference is that you have your own unit to travel in and move from your apartment directly to where you desire to go — no more waiting for people or sick passengers, as clean as you want it to be and completely noiseless since it operates on compressed air. The units are clear plexi-glass and the tubes are as well — allowing for beautiful light to always reach the street. The old subway tunnels carry all personal pneumatic deliveries. A side aspect is with no more subways and cleaner environments, rodents are more or less a rarity — gone like the pigeon! Even subway and street crime is a thing of legend in New York!

And because of pneumatic els, and tests to become residents, and fences around New York’s entrances. Cars have vanished as well — so efficient are the pneumatics! Fire services, ambulances you name it — all pneumatics! Old roads still exist. Gone are the traffic signals and engine exhaust. They are now glorious clean, pure, green walking promenades. Our gift to ourselves — inspiration to all what can be done — in this our city — our creation!

As a result of clean air and glorious space, New York’s residents have become ‘health-crazy’.  Their attitude is so strong for this rare clean outdoor space — unseen in any other city — that people get more exercise than ever before. Biking, walking, running… transportation efficiency and pneumatics have made it all possible.

CITY ELEMENTS

Parks: All parks known from the 21st century still exist but there is a new type of park as well. They are buildings called ‘park buildings’— vertical parks, almost 500 stories high — all park! Each park has their own character and there can be many parks in each building. The central park can be a 30-100 story high park with different layers, tiers and terraces for recreation and the arts. These ‘park buildings’ offer New Yorkers year round recreation in a temperature controlled environment!

Water: as mentioned earlier in the building section, water is very precious. We have found a way to manage it and even recycle it. We no longer depend on aging water aqueducts. We desalinize our harbor’s water so that we can meet all our water needs and be resource and power independent. Our excesses of both are given to other municipalities and cities as our ‘good will gesture’ to society.

Roads: As mentioned under transportation, roads no longer carry any vehicular traffic, since New York is contained on a small island and we have excellent pneumatic transport, Our roads have become urban oasises. With clean air a reward to all!

Public areas: Public areas play an very important role in New York’s future. Since people have more spare time, they love to enjoy the city’s public areas — glorious street promenades, parks and park buildings.

CITY BEENEFITS

While there is a generic sense to this ‘NEW’ New York, it is the openness of public space and the ability to customize private space that makes it so special. Sure all of our buildings are green, not sterile, but outwardly similar. You see the specialization on the inside. Sure everything is clean, but not sterile, just clean because the things that cause air and noise pollution are no longer part of our city. Sure we are all of an educated class, but we are culturally different. BUT WE ARE ALL NEW YORKERS. We love or personal space, we love or green spaces, we love or green life, we love making money. We are good people who through a testing process, have developed a community where we are one, and WE LIKE IT THAT WAY. We have become a model city to all — of bigness and of greatness — of big greatness. The true capital of the world. So press the button and tie your safe belt on your pneumatic unit!

CONCLUSION

So you may now see that this concept for the future of New York takes form out of our readings — sociological factors of a community working as one like a polis; the reason why some things can be generic and good by its final use; something of junk space, where everyone lives in a box (albeit a customizable one) , and of course of BIGNESS, because New York of now, or the future is nothing less than BIG in every way.

City in City

        New York City is known as city that never sleeps. Sometime New York is controlled by its residents or sometimes it controls its residents. There are so many factors which play an essential role to develop any city like economy, immigrants, basic transportation and communication facilities, population, geography and weather. This essay mainly focuses impact of immigrants on City. Its approximate population in 2009 is 8.363 million and most of them were immigrants, who came to New York in search of better life and future. All these people belong to different communities and New York is the best example to show how communities play an important role in a development of any major city. If we observe closely, New York City explains itself that how these immigrants are creating place for their comfort and what they are resulting into:

        New York City is most populous in the United States and is knows as financial hub of the world. This financial hub is acting as giant magnet attracting people from all around the world and thus New York became a gateway for immigration to United States. For the past decade roughly 100,000 immigrants have been arriving and making New

York city as their home, one million have came since 1990. This has meant an almost incredible jump in the percentage of foreign-born New Yorkers, from 28 to 40 percent, in less than ten years. During those decades the newcomers arrived mainly from southern and eastern Europe, joining previous waves from Germany, Ireland and England. Today the immigrants come from literally every corner of the globe. The number of New Yorkers born in the Dominican Republic, for has jumped from 230,000 in 1990 to 387,000 in 1999. During the same period city residents born by Soviet Union nearly tripled from 81,000 to 229,000: South Asians from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh increased their numbers from 67,000 to 146,000; and the Mexican population near quadrupled from 35,000 and 133,000. These are only a few of the more domestic statistics. Chinese immigrants have also arrived in huge numbers, along with Koreans and an increasing number of Africans, both from the Arab north and from sub Saharan Africa. There is barley a country in the world that doesn’t have significant presence in the largest city of United States. There are three “Chinatowns” today, with Flushing in Queens and Sunset Park in Brooklyn joining the original Chinese neighborhood in lower Manhattan. In Manhattan, the Dominican enclave centered in the northern section of the borough around Washington heights, while the Chinese were concentrated in Chinatown to the south; Mexican had a large presence in East Harlem. These immigrants effect on New York’s economy, lows, population, housing and character of city and they are trying creating and expanding their own neighborhood and society where they can have their culture in New York City.

        My essay and research mainly addresses the issue how immigrants can make a place so characteristic that initially  becomes  a “District” and then it transformed into a “polis”. District is relatively a large city area which the observer can mentally go inside of, and which  have a some common character. They can be recognized internally, and occasionally can be used as external reference as a person goes by or toward them.  The physical characteristics that determine districts are thematic continuities which may consist of an endless variety of components: texture, space, form, detail, symbol, building type, use, activity, inhabitants, degree of maintenance, topography. And “polis” is a self sufficient city-state which has its own character and social affairs. Process of converting place into district and then into a polis is very well explained by Chinatown and Little Italy which was witnessed by New Yorkers very well.

        Chinatown and Little Italy are the perfect examples of this kind of neighborhoods. These neighborhoods are growing day by day in population having their own identity, characteristics and culture which creates different districts. When you enter in this community with its own character you can easily differentiate it with other communities.  Manhattan’s Chinatown is one of the largest Chinese communities outside of Asia and was  started developing in 1870 covering four streets with the population of 200 and now in 2009 it is having population of 100,000 covering area of around 30 streets. This same thing is also happening with New York’s other neighborhoods including Little Italy.

        Growth of these communities is making them “self sufficient”. Chinatown and Little Italy has its own residential and commercial area, they are developed such a way that people from those communities can get everything available in their country. They have their own food, festivals, clothing, recreation, banking, culture and mainly businesses. They don’t require going out of their community for any reason. They have their own privacy and they want to maintain it so they welcome people from other communities only for recreation not to stay over there. The social make up of Chinatown says, “We belong to this special area, and we are Chinese, this is our place, our culture, others are welcome but they come to us as our guest.” It is same like visiting other country as foreigner. This self sufficiency and privacy is leading neighborhoods towards becoming “Polis”.          

        At present the population of immigrants is increasing very fast and it seem that it will increase more in future. The new immigration has altered the landscape of the city at very high level– New York now boasts three Chinatowns, a little Odessa, Caribbean Brooklyn, Dominican colony in Washington Heights and South Asian Community in Efforts Blvd, Jackson Heights and Flushing. If all these developing Districts follow the same path as china town then district will become self sufficient “Polis” and New York City might lose its essentials.

References:

Book- City Reader

Web-

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/24/nyregion/24immigrant.html?_r=1

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/census/nny_overview.shtml

http://books.google.com/books?id=MR4iVnvulMQC&pg=PA15&lpg=PA15&dq=impact+of+immigrants+in+nyc&source=bl&ots=dxfjSDkMOl&sig=90QPnWwUPauaH8Bs2t-93HQcwM8&hl=en&ei=ivPpSvriIcO7lAe93IGABQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CCMQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=&f=true

Future of New York

Starting the journey from Penn Station reminds me of the thoughts of Kevin Lynch the way he perceives the image of a city. According to him a city consists of paths, edges, districts, nodes and landmarks. Coming out at 7^th Ave. and looking on the right is one of the main landmark of the city “Empire State Building”. Walking towards uptown on the 7^th Ave. one can’t help but notice “Times Square” which is one of the most important nodes of the city and a global landmark on which millions of eyes focus as they watch the ball drop on the New Year’s Eve.  At the same time its middle of the theater district where renowned Broadway shows such as The Phantom of the Opera, Mama Mia and Wicked attract people from all corners of the globe.

Lewis Mumford may define a city as “a theater of social process”. Everything that is happening in the city is serves the social drama. People living in the city are the actors in this theater.

New York City, “the city that never sleeps” or “the city of lights”, for me, is a theater, a city with a glorious past, an exhilarating present and ever more exciting future. This city is defined by its unique edges. Each path here has its own significance. It is a city that has neighborhoods within the district. In future New York is going to be a combination of various short stories. This city may not expand horizontally in future as there is no provision for future expansion on big scale but the drama (activities) within this city will continually change with time. The first major change that I see in the future of New York in next 50 years is somewhere in Staten Island and that change will bring some major changes with it. This change will consist of the demolition of existing residential area that will be replaced with the construction of a new village for Olympics maybe in 2024 or 2028. This would be a major breakthrough for Staten Island. One may ask why Staten Island? Why not Queens, Bronx or Manhattan? Answer is ahead!

Staten Island is that borough of city that is isolated from the rest of the city and because of the addition of the Olympic village it would be linked to other boroughs. The weak link of Statue of Liberty at present is not strong enough to hold the Staten Island and Manhattan together. Due to the construction of Olympic village there will be massive constructing in Staten Island. The development of the infra structure and the growth will be enormous. Large stadiums would be constructed, wide roads and state of the art new subway system would be developed, Leed accredited buildings would be constructed along the waterfront of Stapleton for the participants and visitors. The city would go green. The Tappen Park would be maintained as the people of Staten Island love it for historical reasons while a new promising skyline for Staten Island will be erected. Standing on a sleek new bridge which blends in perfectly the environment; an architectural marvel, which will connect Manhattan and Staten Island, ones face will lighten-up with the glitter and the glamour of the skylines of New Jersey, Manhattan and Staten Island. This would provide a picture perfect 360 degree view of skyline. This will be the time when finally the people of Staten Island will be active participants in the live theater in New York City. Like any drama, there will be long rehearsal/preparation period, i.e. construction phase; followed by the grand opening, i.e. the Olympics opening ceremony that will lead into the events that will make or break the dreams of so many hopefuls. Like any memorable show that has a climactic ending makes the viewer wanting for more, the Olympics closing ceremony will usher in a new era for Staten Island where the Staten Islanders can define a bright glorious future for their borough or let it slide back to its original ghost town status: a zombie land.

Where you won’t see people on streets at night, there will be no livelihood. People will live all by themselves. It’s gone back to where it is now. Why was Staten Island chosen for Olympics? This was a game! Let me explain. The construction of Olympic Village makes the Staten Island important and that makes the people of Staten Island happy. They get a faster connection of Manhattan that’s like a dream come true for them. So the government makes the people happy for a while and leaves them to what they are good at i.e. restoring the historic districts like Old Town Richmond, Tappen Park etc. The government; i.e. the director of the show will leave up to the Staten Islanders to create an even more exciting sequel to the Olympics, i.e. to give them the opportunity to redefine, overhaul and reshape Staten Island for a ever more promising future.

Now coming to the new connection i.e. is the bridge that’s going to connect Staten Island and Manhattan. It’s like a connection that connects the two isolated boroughs of New York. In the beginning this connection will bring a lot of pleasure but as the time will pass the real situation will come forward and this is that the downtown of Manhattan is already so congested with this new connection things might get a little bit crazy. This craziness will last for a while. Coming to this side of New York, 150 years from now would be very techno. My vision is very typical for this side. Since there is no horizontal space this city to expand hence will expand vertically which already it is to some extent. There will be high speed elevators which will take 30 seconds to reach 121th floor. Buildings would rise up to 300+ floors. Right now New York is a city on two levels. One is the underground level and the other is over the ground. When the buildings would rise up to 300+ floors there would be several horizontal levels connecting these buildings. There will be streets up in the air. Instead of ramps the change in level of streets would be connected through elevators. Concept of garden terrace will increase and also the inside buildings gardens will come common. Landscape and green is the part of life. Not only the percentage of built up will increase but also green spaces will also increase. They may not be called “open green spaces” anymore but they will exist within the buildings. They might be just called green spaces acting as the lungs of the building.

The buildings would be connected through streets which will act as paths.  Maybe, at that time a neighborhood may be defined by this horizontal level like all the vertically big buildings would have a horizontal connection, a floor that would be common for all. This could a communal/public space. This vertical system could also define the class. Let’s say the people living on the lower levels could be the lower class people. These are low income people who drive cars. This would be the people traveling in slow vehicles (cars). As higher the storey of buildings goes the richer the people get. On the topmost level would be the richest people of all. These people don’t drive cars. They have flying vehicles. At the top of these buildings would be air traffic management towers managing the air traffic. Who knows these might be controlled by artificial intelligence. There would be fast traffic lanes up high in air with traffic signals floating in the air. Neon billboards would be floating up in the air.

Coming back to the horizontal level, here would be a new system of subway, High speed trains that would connect the different neighborhoods and districts. In the middle would be the people using these maybe they are middle class. These big buildings would be made of glass, aluminum and new shinny and reflective materials. The sunset would no longer be seen in sky. Instead it would be seen on the buildings as a reflection and because of that it would be hard to figure out the direction of sun. The population will increase massively. The city will grow vertically and there will be no limit to it.

With this massive vertical expansion and dividing the city in horizontal levels how aesthetic this whole scene would be? If we think of it now this all sounds a very chaotic ugly scene but who knows in next 150 years the ugly is the new beautiful. With the passage of time things change. Graffiti was once an art and now just random spray painting by a bunch of junkies destroying the walls. I still think graffiti is an art. These new big buildings how aesthetic are they? The bigness of these buildings may sound a bit ugly but according to Rem Koolhaas bigness is everything. It has its own character. Bigness ends one thing and starts a new thing from the end having its own new identity. So 150 years from now to have big buildings is fine. They can be beautiful. Who knows these buildings have high speed lanes cut out in them for the flying vehicles.

Coming back to where we started from paths, edges, districts, nodes and landmarks. 150 years from now. Will 7^th Ave. or Broadway still be an important path or will the Empire state Building still be an important landmark or would Times Square or Columbus Circle still be a node? NO! They all will loose their identity. The bigness will end them and a new Era of Bigness will start. There will be new paths, edges, districts, nodes and landmarks. These paths may not be so well defined as they might be up in the air, the edges might just be defined by lights, the node could be a just an empty space in air and the landmark could be something just floating in the air. It could be a miniature of the Empire State Building floating in the air. The only one I think will survive amongst all these would be the Statue of Liberty unless French give another statue to Americans as a gift which is again BIG.

Defining New York in Mumford’s way New York future would be a city having small short dramas going on simultaneously. Each drama would link to the next drama coming up creating a continuous chain for better or for worst. Maybe the social system and they way people live their live may become again very conservative and people go back to leading a private life.  New York is a city where anything can happen. This city has its own definition like Jay-Z and  Alicia Keys defines it as “ Concrete Jungle where dreams are made of, there is nothing you can’t do, Now you’re in New York, these streets will make you feel brand new, the light will inspire you…” This is a city where anything is possible in future. It’s a city that has opportunities and where dreams are made.

The (New) New York:

The most useful thing I can think for the future of New York is a series of incidents that has provided constraints and opportunity in the growth of New York City. In this article I raised some questions and some suggestions that will at least alert us to the difficulties of the future.

Firstly, the shifting center for the global capitalist economy has changed very fast, from Amsterdam to London to New York, Will current superpower status and the metropolitan ascendancy it provides NYC’s financial and business services sectors – survive for future? The speed with which empire fall and rise increased to a relatively breath taking velocity. : One might say Mumbai might be the next center if the trend continuous on its way.

If it happens than macroeconomic condition that sustains eight million populations might no longer be capable of supporting such a populace and parts of New York City might be given back to ‘nature’. And people might have to develop tendencies of saving instead of Spending.

Secondly, for ecological developments, global warming and pollution will give sunny winters and summer drought to the city of island as the sea level rises. In addition, with the changing scenario of shortage for natural resources, I believe that source of energy supply will change, people have to start using transcended oil and have windmills perched on skyscrapers, New York City has to start using solar rickshaw instead of taxi.

It might be more economical to take out central park and create a wind farm over there to generate more wealth for New York City and to supply the need of electricity in this post environmentalist era.

Political boundary of the city could be changed and federal might create of more metropolitan and regional form of governance. I believe that growing urban influences and rural decline might lead to the redrawing of the constitutional ground rules that governs a local area rather than an urban mass.

The future of mass transit for New York City should be more efficient than what it is, because by the rising level of pollution and price of crude it might be uneconomical to use automobile compare to current time. The ratio of using mass transit might increase drastically and there might be a compartment system like first class, second class, etc…

According to one survey New York City produces 40,000 tons of waste everyday, and as per news they are now exporting all these garbage to nearby states for land filling as they are already done with the land filling sites. What might be the next? Dumping it in the ocean? As they did it once in an Indian ocean. They can’t do it in a post environmentalist era; I think that government might start charging on a volume of garbage, like for example, if one produces more than x kg. Than they will be charged x amount of money per kg. People have to start Reuse, Reduce and Recycle of material whatever they use.

About racial and ethnic relations: a recrudescence of traditional conflicts might start happening because of cultural conflict and inter marriage or a redrawing of the culture political map.

It’s a far enough ahead so that pondering the possibilities might just force us to stretch too tight brain muscles, allowing us to conjure scenario and to reflect how we now in the present better navigate the currents of history towards the future we desire.